1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an object containing pressed flowers sealed therein. More particularly, the present invention relates to an object containing pressed flowers (or dried flowers) sealed therein which retains the natural beauty of flowers for a long period of time when used as decoration for glasses, tableware, furniture, mirrors, clocks, electric appliances, message boards and sheets, name plates, memorial cards, stationery, post cards, telegrams, photographs, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been known ornaments of pressed flowers or dried leaves stuck on cardboard or plastic sheet. They are used to decorate memorial cards and telegrams.
These conventional ornaments of pressed flowers in sheet form are typically constructed as shown in FIG. 1. A pressed flower (2) is placed on cardboard or plastic sheet (1) and covered with Japanese paper or transparent plastic film (3). FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 1. It is to be noted that the Japanese paper or plastic film (3) covers the pressed flower (2) in the bag-like structure and only its peripheral part is stuck to the cardboard or plastic sheet (1) by an adhesive layer (4). FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 1. It is to be noted that the pressed flower (2) is embedded in the adhesive layer (4) and is laminated with the transparent plastic film (3).
These ornaments of pressed flowers should be produced in such a way that as little air and moisture as possible remains in the periphery of the pressed flower (2). To this end, contrivances have been made to carry out sticking or lamination in a reduced pressure atmosphere and improvements have been made in the method of contact bonding.
The disadvantage of the ornament of bag-like structure as shown in FIG. 2 is that air and moisture remain around the pressed flower (2) in the bag-like closed space and they rapidly deteriorate the pressed flower (2), destroying the natural color and shape of the flower. Moreover, the bag-like structure is vulnerable to damage. Once the surface film (3) is broken at the part (B) close to the pressed flower (2), the pressed flower (2) is exposed to the air immediately and becomes deteriorated.
If Japanese paper is used in place of transparent plastic film (3), deterioration proceeds more rapidly because it does not isolate the pressed flower from the air.
These disadvantages are somewhat eliminated if the pressed flower (2) is embedded in the adhesive layer (4) as shown in FIG. 3. However, air bubbles remain in the space between the pressed flower (2) and the base (1), and it is difficult to remove them completely from the adhesive layer (4) even in the case of lamination under in a reduced pressure atmosphere. Moreover, it is difficult to establish adequate conditions for evacuation and temperature in the manufacturing process. This has led to difficulties in efficient production of high-quality pressed flower ornaments which retain the natural color for a long period of time without discoloration and deterioration.
The conventional product as shown in FIG. 3 contains air bubbles which make the transparent plastic film (3) liable to damage and the pressed flower (2) becomes easily deteriorated as it is exposed to the air directly.
Also in the adhesive layer (4), irregularity on the base (1) surface greatly affects the spreading of the adhesive and leaves air bubbles at a higher probability. Therefore, the base layer is required to be as flat as possible. These disadvantages involved in the conventional ornaments with pressed flowers make it difficult to reuse the pressed flower by cutting it out of the memorial card or telegram. When the periphery of the pressed flower is cut by scissors, the air layer or air bubbles are broken and the pressed flower (2) is exposed to the air, which causes deterioration. In addition, the amount of residual air or the number of residual air bubbles increases as the pressed flower ornament becomes larger. Consequently, the conventional product cannot be large enough to decorate the wall.
Another disadvantage of the conventional pressed flower ornament which employs cardboard or plastic sheet as the base layer (1) as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is that the base layer (1) tends to locally warp as the adhesive layer (4) hardens and shrinks and flatness of the base layer (1) itself cannot be maintained. And the air tends to remain due to this warpage.
In the case where the base layer (1) is glass or wood, the pressed flower does not closely stick to the base layer as long as the conventional method is employed.
With the foregoing in mind, the present inventors have carried out extensive studies to produce an ornament of pressed flowers by using a hot-melt adhesive for the adhesive layer (4). This hot-melt adhesive permits bonding in an atmosphere at a very low pressure. Bonding in this way minimizes the amount of residual air or the number of air bubbles. Hence, the pressed flower remains less deteriorated over a long period of time. In addition, the hot-melt adhesive prevents the base layer (1) from warping and can be applied to the base layer (1) of glass or wood or the base layer (1) with a large area. Thus, the resulting ornament retains the beauty of natural color for a long period of time.
The present invention has been completed to address the problems involved in the prior art as mentioned above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new, high-quality, artistic ornament of pressed flower which can be produced efficiently.